Being a mostly visual diary of the creation of high quality, historically accurate 25mm/28mm scale terrain

for a refight of the battle waged by the British and Afghans on July 27th, 1880,

in time for its recent 130th anniversary on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010.

Above is a pic of Lt. Colonel James Galbraith, Regimental Colour in hand, alongside Bobbie the regimental dog and some of the other "Last Eleven" survivors of the 66th (Berkshire) Regiment, making their last stand in one of the walled gardens just South of Khig village, a few miles West of the Afghan town of Maiwand.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Kohistan Gate for Kabul

Last night I got back home from a very long & productive day's work and -- to relax, really -- spent the late night on something I'd been thinking about for the past few days, since finishing up my scratchbuilt Kabul Bridge... namely, scratchbuilding a replacement for the Medieval European gateway I'd been using as a similar "place holder" to the European Bridge I'd recently replaced in my "Bala Hissar of Bust!" terrain layout.

I used similar materials -- Blue, and cheaper white, styrofoam -- pieced together with hot-glue, and some cut out pieces of 1/16th" or so thick self-adhesive vinyl floor-tile, and built the gateway to fit the space I had available in the city wall, namely 4" wide by 3" deep.

As with my recent bridge build, I think this turned out pretty good and as the walls and towers flanking it were NOT build by Chris The Model Maker, it should have no trouble blending in pretty well. I still need to cover it with wood filler to add strength and texture, and then paint it to match the existing set of walls. In fact, part of me wants to paint over those existing walls in some paler mudstone and sandstone shades to better match the rest of my other Afghan buildings and the hill fort serving as the Bala Hissar, but I just don't have time right now. One reason for that is I may have finally, "hit the wall," with my terrain paint. These are the half-gallons and gallons I bought back in the Spring/Summer of 2010 when I was building my original "Maiwand Day" terrain boards, and which I have been using -- with only slight replenishments -- ever since. It's time to go back to the paint well, so to speak, and get some more custom-mixed supplies at Home Depot or Lowes.

MALALAI -- Afghan folk-heroine of Maiwand (click on pic for more info)

BOBBIE -- pet of Sergeant P. Kelly of the 66th (Berkshire) Regt. (click on pic for more info)

Bobbie was separated from his master during the battle and is said to have been present during the final stand of "The Last Eleven" beyond the walled gardens of the village of Khig. Somehow he made it all the way to Kandahar on his own, where he was reunited with his owner. Bobbie returned to England with the regiment and was personally decorated for his service by Queen Victoria. Sadly, the following year he was hit by a hansom cab and killed. Figure is from MIRLITON Medieval accessory range.